Americans and religion increasingly parting ways, new survey shows

Americans and religion increasingly parting ways, new survey shows

Religious affiliation in the United States is at its lowest point since it began to be tracked in the 1930s, according to analysis of newly released survey data by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and Duke University. Last year, one in five Americans claimed they had no religious preference, more than double the number reported in 1990.UC Berkeley sociologists Mike Hout and Claude Fischer , along with Mark Chaves of Duke University, analyzed data on religious attitudes as part of the General Social Survey, a highly cited biannual poll conducted by NORC, an independent research institute at the University of Chicago.

Results of the survey – which looked at numerous issues, including attitudes about gun ownership and how tax dollars should be spent, and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation – are being released now and in coming weeks.

On American attitudes toward religion, UC Berkeley researchers found that 20 percent of a nationally representative group reported no religious preference. That’s a jump from 1990 when all but 8 percent of Americans polled identified with an organized faith.

”This continues a trend of Americans disavowing a specific religious affiliation that has accelerated greatly since 1990,” said Hout, lead author of the study.

Hout and Fischer are authors of the General Social Survey study that in 2002 first identified a rise in the number of “unchurched.” They are careful to distinguish the survey category of “no religion,” which means individuals who are not part of an organized religion, from “atheists,” who do not believe in God and made up just 3 percent of those interviewed last year. Meanwhile, just 8 percent of those surveyed said they were raised with no religion.

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“They are careful to distinguish the survey category of “no religion,” which means individuals who are not part of an organized religion, from “atheists,” who do not believe in God and made up just 3 percent of those interviewed last year.”

careful – why careful? Are they going to offend someone if they use the wrong category? Surely not…

in God – surely that should be in a god… Christians, even ex ones, still seem to believe that their religion is the only one people can deny…

I dozed off watching masterchef and woke to see the channel changed and the announcement. Poping doesn’t get much tougher than this. A right winger from Germany, then one from Argentina is there a connection? I’m expecting a boy from Brazil next time.

“They are careful to distinguish the survey category of “no religion,” which means individuals who are not part of an organized religion, from “atheists,” who do not believe in God and made up just 3 percent of those interviewed last year.”

careful – why careful? Are they going to offend someone if they use the wrong category? Surely not…

in God – surely that should be in a god… Christians, even ex ones, still seem to believe that their religion is the only one people can deny…

I dozed off watching masterchef and woke to see the channel changed and the announcement. Poping doesn’t get much tougher than this. A right winger from Germany, then one from Argentina is there a connection? I’m expecting a boy from Brazil next time.

How long do you think it will be before he pokes his nose in about the Falklands…

“They are careful to distinguish the survey category of “no religion,” which means individuals who are not part of an organized religion, from “atheists,” who do not believe in God and made up just 3 percent of those interviewed last year.”

careful – why careful? Are they going to offend someone if they use the wrong category? Surely not…

in God – surely that should be in a god… Christians, even ex ones, still seem to believe that their religion is the only one people can deny…

There is a categorical difference between atheists & and no-religion. Atheists are part of the no-religion bracket, but so are agnostics, non-denominationals, new-age, etc. It is dishonest to claim that they’re all the same & gives us a better picture of the state of religion. It shows that people have not turned to atheism, but they are abandoning their religion, because of disillusionment.

“They are careful to distinguish the survey category of “no religion,” which means individuals who are not part of an organized religion, from “atheists,” who do not believe in God and made up just 3 percent of those interviewed last year.”

careful – why careful? Are they going to offend someone if they use the wrong category? Surely not…

in God – surely that should be in a god… Christians, even ex ones, still seem to believe that their religion is the only one people can deny…

There is a categorical difference between atheists & and no-religion. Atheists are part of the no-religion bracket, but so are agnostics, non-denominationals, new-age, etc. It is dishonest to claim that they’re all the same & gives us a better picture of the state of religion. It shows that people have not turned to atheism, but they are abandoning their religion, because of disillusionment.

I totally agree – I was being facetious, comparing the ‘outrage’ of an agnostic being called an atheist (before going back to watch the latest Brian Cox documentary) with the more violent outpourings from our religious brothers and sisters…

Abandoning the dark religion you were born into is a vital first step and can be extremely emotional or indeed dangerous for many people – but deliverance from the forces of woo altogether can be a step too far for some folks, at least initially.

Either way, any step in the right direction should be encouraged and these brave souls deserve our support.

“Let’s not be naive, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

“Let’s not be naive, we’re not talking about a simple political battle; it is a destructive pretension against the plan of God. We are not talking about a mere bill, but rather a machination of the Father of Lies that seeks to confuse and deceive the children of God.”

So, business as usual…

Never doubted it!

It would make no difference whoever got the nod…they are all much of a muchness!

“He’s as uncompromising as Pope John Paul II, in terms of the principles of the Church – everything it has defended regarding euthanasia, the death penalty, abortion, the right to life, human rights, celibacy of priests. All of this will continue if Bergoglio is made Pope.”

Someone should ask the 97% what their god actually does, i.e. what affect the god has on the world which deviates it from the normal conservation laws of physics and principles of biology, chemistry, psychology etc.

I think that people who focus on the low 3% figure are missing the point. Atheism is just the tip of the iceberg; it is the zenith of secularism. And it is secularism that is the goal (at least for now). So long as religious affiliation wanes, then secular values will flourish. Whether they take their secularism to the max and become atheists or not is peripheral to the issue at hand, which is to say the dismantling of religious privilege.

The number of self reported atheists is probably much lower indeed than the actual number of de facto atheists. This may undoubtedly be due to the ugly “A” word. But so long as secularism, by whichever name you choose to call it, gains more ground, then atheism will have more fertile soil to work with and atheism will follow.